Circtec acquires Granuband creating integrated collection and feedstock supply capability for chemical recycling of end-of-life tyres
Circtec Ltd has acquired Granuband B.V., one of the main end-of-life tyre collection and recycling companies in the Benelux region, thus ensuring feedstock supplies for Circtec.
Circtec Ltd, one of the global leaders in end-of-life tyre chemical recycling through pyrolysis technology has acquired Granuband B.V., a leading Netherlands end-of-life tyre collection and recycling company. With a substantial recycling plant in the industrial port of Amsterdam, capable of processing 50,000 tonnes per year of end-of-life tyres into granulate, moulded products and tyre chips, Granuband is one of the main end-of-life tyre recycling companies in the Benelux region.
Granuband has been incorporated into the Circtec group and will now manage the feedstock requirements for Circtec’s new plant under construction at Delfzijl, The Netherlands. Additionally, it will continue to operate production of moulded rubber products, meaning that Circtec group now produces a full range of end-of-life tyre recycling products, from both mechanical and chemical recycling, including granulate, moulded products, recovered carbon black, circular petrochemical feedstock and refined renewable fuels. Circtec is the first company globally to have the integrated capability at industrial scale to produce a full range of both mechanical and chemical end-of-life tyre recycling products. Maarten van Randeraat, the founder and Managing Director of Granuband will remain with the company, joining Circtec to head up the feedstock supply function for the group.
Circtec previously announced that construction of their Delfzijl plant had started at a project launch ceremony last month, following successful completion of a €150 million funding round. The acquisition of Granuband means that Circtec has created a value chain that is fully vertically integrated, allowing a single company to collect end-of-life tyres at the point of arising in the Benelux region, and process them all the way through to supply back to industry of high value recycled chemicals and renewable fuel products, including recovered carbon black for the manufacture of new tyres. This closes the recycling loop enabling Circtec to offer unrivalled traceability, product control and environmental transparency in the chemical recycling sector.
The Granuband plant in Amsterdam is one of Europe’s most sophisticated end-of-life tyre mechanical recycling plants, with automated tyre selection, robotic production and direct access to bulk marine transport in the industrial port of Amsterdam. The deep-water port logistical capability means that end- of-life tyres can also be brought in from across Europe by ship for processing and supply to the Delfzijl plant, giving Circtec a Europe-wide logistical reach. The technological capability and intellectual property acquired into the group will also give Circtec the capability to produce recycled
chemical products with traceability back to individual tyre manufacturers’ tyres through automated sorting of end-of-life tyres.
Allen Timpany, CEO and Cofounder of Circtec, said: “It is an important step that Granuband has become part of the Circtec group; it enables us to take control of our feedstock requirements going forward, and to close the loop of circularity from the point that end-of-life tyres come off vehicles in Europe all the way through to the supply of new recycled chemicals to industry. This vertically integrated strategy is a key part of Circtec’s growth plans to scale-up the business and take a significant market share of the European end-of-life tyre recycling sector.”
Maarten Van Randeraat, Managing Director and Founder at Granuband, said: “I am delighted that the end-of-life tyre collection and recycling business that I built over thirty-five years in the Benelux region has a bright future as part of the Circtec group. Having looked at the competing technology and models for the last few years, I concluded that Circtec was the right home for Granuband going forward as the sector evolves and I am excited about the opportunities to lead the feedstock development strategy of Circtec over the coming years.”
